The Department of Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is proud to support The Pauletta and Denzel Washington Family Gifted Scholars Program in Neuroscience. This outstanding educational opportunity is offered to eligible undergraduate, graduate and medical students pursuing training in the field of neuroscience.

Awardees will be matched with a principal investigator to work on a research project in a laboratory under the direction of Dr. Keith L. Black in one of the following areas: Blood-brain barrier and drug delivery into the CNS, immunology and cancer vaccine, gene therapy, gene discovery or advanced surgical technology.

Awardees are expected to submit an abstract or scientific paper on their research to a national neuroscience, cancer or neurosurgery meeting at the end of their summer fellowship with the Department. If their abstract or paper is accepted for presentation, the Department will sponsor the awardee to attend the meeting in which his/her paper was accepted. Each award winner will receive special commendation from a representative of the Pauletta and Denzel Washington family at a ceremony for invited guests.

Every year a member or members of the Washington family will present this award to the recipients. Last year, the award presentation was held at Southern University, Shreveport in Louisiana and presented by Pauletta and Denzel Washington. Three of their four children were in attendence.

Financial support in the amount of $2,000/month for one undergraduate and $2,500/month for one graduate or medical student will be provided to two awardees during their summer fellowship within a research laboratory directed by Dr. Black at Cedars-Sinai. Further financial support to present their work at a national neuroscience, cancer or neurosurgery meeting will also be given to each awardee. Awardees must be able to travel to Los Angeles, California, to attend the award ceremony. Economy, round-trip airfare and/or ground transportation, meals and hotel accommodations will be provided in addition to the financial award. According to IRS regulations, this award is subject to federal income tax. Thus, all awardees will be issued a 1099 misc tax form or W-2 at year-end for the amount of the award.

• Applicants must be an undergraduate, graduate or medical student.
• Applicants with an interest in neuroscience are eligible for this award. However, applicants that have not yet committed to a major in science are welcome.
• Applicants must be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States.

The Selection Committee consists of the following members:

Keith L. Black, MD
Chairman, Department of Neurosurgery
Director, Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Benjamin Carson, MD
Director, Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery
Professor of Neurosurgery, Plastic Surgery, Oncology and Pediatrics
Johns Hopkins Medical Center
Co-Director of the Johns Hopkins Craniofacial Center

Maria G. Castro, PhD
Co-Director, Gene Therapeutics Research Institute
Co-Director, Division of Molecular Medicine
Professor of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

Allen Counter, MD
Director, Harvard Foundation
Harvard University

Dwain Morris-Irvin, PhD
Research Scientist
Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Nelson M. Oyesiku, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery
Director of Laboratory of Molecular Neurosurgery & Biotechnology
Emory University School of Medicine

Audrey S. Penn, MD
Deputy Director, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
National Institutes of Health

The application for participation in the Pauletta and Denzel Washington Family Gifted Scholars Program in Neuroscience is available by mail or you may download here

The deadline for receipt of applications is January 9, 2008.

For more information or to receive an application package, please contact: